Florida's French import also heals quickly

By Mike Finger :
March 23, 2013
: Updated: March 23, 2013 11:44pm

Florida's Will Yeguete (15) looks to shoot as Texas A&M's Kourtney Roberson (32) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

AUSTIN — Will Yeguete left France when he was 16, intent on experiencing what he called “the American dream.”

Before anyone assumes that's a cliché, the Florida forward is quick to point out his dream had nothing to do with opening a business, buying a house or raising a family. His dream was to become Tony Parker.

“He's like a God,” Yeguete said of the Spurs' French-raised all-star. “There's not a statue of him yet, but there will be.”

As a reserve forward for the Gators, who take on Minnesota at the Erwin Center in the NCAA tournament's round of 32 on Sunday, Yeguete remains a long way from modeling for his own sculpture. But he's already pulled off a Parker-like injury comeback, and Florida believes he can play a key role in a postseason it hopes will end in its version of a River Walk parade.

A 6-foot-7, 222-pound bruiser, Yeguete gravitated toward basketball as a kid in Bordeaux even though soccer was cooler. Inspired by the NBA success of Parker, Boris Diaw and others, he and his family decided the best way for him to reach that level was to get to the United States as quickly as possible.

So at 16 he enrolled at Florida Air Academy (the same high school powerhouse attended by current Texas forward Ioannis Papapetrou of Greece). From there he earned a scholarship from the Gators, and by his sophomore year became one of the team's most efficient rebounders and best interior defenders.

Then his body started betraying him. Last February, just a few weeks before Florida began its postseason, Yeguete broke his left foot during a victory over Auburn. He missed the rest of the season, including an Elite Eight defeat that left him wondering if he could have provided enough help to take the Gators to the Final Four.

And just when he was asserting himself again this year as a junior, another injury took him down. This time, it was his knee that gave way in the closing minutes of a Feb. 5 loss at Arkansas. Doctors told him it required surgery, and he was likely to miss another postseason.

Yeguete was crushed.

“Really, he cried about as hard as I've ever seen a kid cry before,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said.

The day after his surgery, his older brother, Happy, was scheduled to arrive in the United States for the first time. Happy was supposed to watch him play. Instead, he got to watch him sit.

“I was devastated,” Yeguete said. “I thought that was it. I thought the season was over.”

But then something unexpected happened. Just like Parker, his basketball hero, came back more quickly from a sprained ankle than the Spurs anticipated, Yeguete showed signs that he might be able to return from arthroscopic surgery in time for the postseason.

He was able to do some light running. The knee wasn't swelling badly. And by March 2, he was able to return to action against Alabama.

Yeguete still isn't the force he was before the latest injury. He's still rebuilding his strength and can be a bit tentative. But he gave the Gators 20 productive minutes and eight rebounds Friday against Northwestern State, and a few more outings like that could be exactly what Florida needs.

It would also bring him closer to what brought him to America in the first place.

“Going to college, living in the dorms, playing in front of big crowds, being on TV, winning a championship?” Yeguete said. “That's the dream.”